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A few months ago, my brother in law called to tell me he drew a "once in a lifetime" tag for New Mexico Oryx - the only free range Oryx population in North America. I used quotes here because while this is usually a OIL hunt, but there is some opportunity for service members to draw more than once. He asked me to come along and help "guide", which I am pretty sure means "help me carry all of this stuff up the mountain".
There was quite a bit of pre-work to do for access to McGregor range / GU28, which is part of the Fort Bliss training range. You can access it as a civilian to use for recreation almost year round, but the hunts themselves are very hard to draw. On average it takes 25+ years to draw a tag for an Oryx even as a resident. I was born in New Mexico, but I've never hunted there as an adult, so this hunt had a bit of special meaning anyways.
After a few months prepping and research, I flew to El Paso on Friday and made the drive over to Alamogordo where he lives. We spent Friday night planning and packing, and set out for the training range at 5 am. Once arrived, we checked into the base, and began making our way into the hunt area. The landscape is absolutely gorgeous and desolate.
All of the tips and tricks we read said to spend 90% of your time driving and glassing. With 700,000 acres to cover, this made a lot of sense - as that's a little bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
As it turned out, that's the advice everyone else got also. There were vehicles EVERYWHERE and there was also a sheep hunt going on at the same time. By Noon we had covered 40 miles of ground, and it wasn't until 1PM that we spotted our first Oryx. He was tucked away on a slope 4 canyons from the road. After about an hour hike we closed that distance to 500 yards. This was about as far as we could go - the next canyon would put us too low to see him, and he had the higher ground for an approach beyond that.
Once we got set up, we determined "he" was a "she" - but this tag was either sex, so we decided to lay and wait. Pictured here is my brother in law behind the gun, and my older half brother Alan. This was my first time seeing Alan in several years, and I always wonder why we don't make an effort to see each other more. We get along great but don't talk near as often as we should. I'm also reminded of how much he looks like our father. It's so uncanny at times that it can feel a little nostalgic, remembering my dad at that age.
While we laid there for almost 2 hours glassing this Oryx (see picture above) just out of sight of the road, multiple vehicles drove by and never detected the her on the mountain. She was incredibly hard to spot when laying down in the brush. Only bits and pieces of the white face were visible most of the time.
As we waited, we noticed some movement above and to the left. As if appearing out of nowhere, suddenly we are staring at a magnificent bull Oryx. The estimated horn length was 38 to 40". I ranged again at 502 yards and called out the MOA adjustment. He was tucked in behind a tall Yucca, but most of the body was visible from this angle.
The most difficult part about this shot was the wind. It was blowing almost straight at us, but with a slight cross, and varying between 15 and 25 mph. It was impossible to tell exactly what it was doing in between us and the Oryx. We'd been practicing this moment for hours, and at the crack of the rifle, I thought I saw the bull jerk. He ran about 50 yards and turned around broadside. I called out the range again and my brother in law let the second bullet fly. I unfortunately flinched when he shot the second time and did not see the impact. The bull appeared to be clumsily exiting as he disappeared over the backside of the mountain.
My optimism remained high, but there was simply no good way to get to where the bull had disappeared from this side, so we pulled back and drove around to the other side of the mountain. The "road" on the map turned out to be more of a rutted and overgrown tank path. We ended up walking several miles to the mountain, and had a steep climb up to the top. It had been 2 hours since the shot. Once there, the views were spectacular. If you look carefully, you can see the truck in the distance.
Side note; on the way up we encountered another Oryx with a much easier shot, but believing we had a wounded animal on the mountain, all we could do was watch it eventually walk off.
To keep this from getting too long, we never found any sign of the Bull up top. We walked for several hours and covered several more miles of ground starting from where we shot at him, hoping to see him laying somewhere down below. There were several very steep cliffs in the immediate area, narrowing down the possible exits. We found his tracks but no sign of blood. It amazes me that a big animal like this could simply disappear into such an open and barren landscape, with visibility for miles in most directions. I am still not convinced that these shots were misses, but there simply wasn't anywhere else to look. If they were misses, the wind was certainly a big factor.
Darkness was coming quickly now and we began the trek back to the truck, with about a thousand feet still left to descend. Arriving back home around 7pm, all I could think about was that Oryx, and a hot meal.
The next morning, we decided to go back to the same mountain and glass again for either of the other Oryx that we saw. The sunrise was stunning. It felt like an homage to the day we might have. After several hours of glassing, we could not locate either Oryx, or any new ones.
A front was pushing in quickly, and it started to get extremely windy. We made the call that the wind may have pushed the animals down into better cover and low areas, and over the next few hours we covered 10 new miles of road, and hiked into an area called the turtlebacks - a set of foothills leading up to a new set out mountains. We also stumbled across several really interesting pieces of exploded ordinance that had been dispensed over the vast area, some newer than others.
We hunted both days from sun up to sun down with no breaks. To be honest, it's the hardest I have ever hunted in a 48 hour window. As the wind picked up even stronger, the 40-50mph gusts started to push sand from both the surrounding area and white sands missile test range into the sky. It was impossible to hold the binoculars still as the gusts got stronger, but we persevered on into the abyss of desert anyways.
The storm made everything very difficult. You can see the dust storm building here. Dark on the final day came earlier than normal, and after covering 60 or more miles on tires and boots in 36 hours, it was over. In total we saw 5 antelope, 7 mule deer including one 3x3 at 40 yards, 3 Oryx, 8 Javelina and 5 rabbits.
I have always been drawn to the mountains. There's some part of me that sees a big hill and can't help but wonder "what's on the other side"? I'm thankful that I am still able to go find out, and I hope that I have a bunch of years left to be able to answer that question.
I know it's not realistic that I will ever draw this hunt for myself, and even if I did, I'd be in my 60s or maybe even 70s. It's very possible that this may be the only time in my life that I ever get to chase these weird, magnificent creatures. Trying to cram all of the expectations and hopes that come along with that into a single two day hunt is exhausting. There is a chance he may draw again as the military only hunts have better odds, but it's still uncertain and as I have learned, life has a way of changing your plans. They are moving back to Arkansas next month, and while I think the intentions are good, I wonder if he will really put in year after year, hoping to eventually get to do this all again.
The plane ride home was a little wild. The winds were shaking the plane like turbulence, but we were still parked on the tarmac. Dust obscured the other planes as they took-off and landed, and as the pilot pushed the plane straight into the oncoming winds for takeoff, the cabin filled with dust. Much of my gear is still covered in the fine white gypsum, and I found a mesquite branch in my boot last night. My sister texted me to tell me that it had started snowing right after we left.
We didn't tag an animal, but the memories are still fresh and vivid. Maybe someday ... maybe.
There was quite a bit of pre-work to do for access to McGregor range / GU28, which is part of the Fort Bliss training range. You can access it as a civilian to use for recreation almost year round, but the hunts themselves are very hard to draw. On average it takes 25+ years to draw a tag for an Oryx even as a resident. I was born in New Mexico, but I've never hunted there as an adult, so this hunt had a bit of special meaning anyways.
After a few months prepping and research, I flew to El Paso on Friday and made the drive over to Alamogordo where he lives. We spent Friday night planning and packing, and set out for the training range at 5 am. Once arrived, we checked into the base, and began making our way into the hunt area. The landscape is absolutely gorgeous and desolate.
All of the tips and tricks we read said to spend 90% of your time driving and glassing. With 700,000 acres to cover, this made a lot of sense - as that's a little bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
As it turned out, that's the advice everyone else got also. There were vehicles EVERYWHERE and there was also a sheep hunt going on at the same time. By Noon we had covered 40 miles of ground, and it wasn't until 1PM that we spotted our first Oryx. He was tucked away on a slope 4 canyons from the road. After about an hour hike we closed that distance to 500 yards. This was about as far as we could go - the next canyon would put us too low to see him, and he had the higher ground for an approach beyond that.
Once we got set up, we determined "he" was a "she" - but this tag was either sex, so we decided to lay and wait. Pictured here is my brother in law behind the gun, and my older half brother Alan. This was my first time seeing Alan in several years, and I always wonder why we don't make an effort to see each other more. We get along great but don't talk near as often as we should. I'm also reminded of how much he looks like our father. It's so uncanny at times that it can feel a little nostalgic, remembering my dad at that age.
While we laid there for almost 2 hours glassing this Oryx (see picture above) just out of sight of the road, multiple vehicles drove by and never detected the her on the mountain. She was incredibly hard to spot when laying down in the brush. Only bits and pieces of the white face were visible most of the time.
As we waited, we noticed some movement above and to the left. As if appearing out of nowhere, suddenly we are staring at a magnificent bull Oryx. The estimated horn length was 38 to 40". I ranged again at 502 yards and called out the MOA adjustment. He was tucked in behind a tall Yucca, but most of the body was visible from this angle.
The most difficult part about this shot was the wind. It was blowing almost straight at us, but with a slight cross, and varying between 15 and 25 mph. It was impossible to tell exactly what it was doing in between us and the Oryx. We'd been practicing this moment for hours, and at the crack of the rifle, I thought I saw the bull jerk. He ran about 50 yards and turned around broadside. I called out the range again and my brother in law let the second bullet fly. I unfortunately flinched when he shot the second time and did not see the impact. The bull appeared to be clumsily exiting as he disappeared over the backside of the mountain.
My optimism remained high, but there was simply no good way to get to where the bull had disappeared from this side, so we pulled back and drove around to the other side of the mountain. The "road" on the map turned out to be more of a rutted and overgrown tank path. We ended up walking several miles to the mountain, and had a steep climb up to the top. It had been 2 hours since the shot. Once there, the views were spectacular. If you look carefully, you can see the truck in the distance.
Side note; on the way up we encountered another Oryx with a much easier shot, but believing we had a wounded animal on the mountain, all we could do was watch it eventually walk off.
To keep this from getting too long, we never found any sign of the Bull up top. We walked for several hours and covered several more miles of ground starting from where we shot at him, hoping to see him laying somewhere down below. There were several very steep cliffs in the immediate area, narrowing down the possible exits. We found his tracks but no sign of blood. It amazes me that a big animal like this could simply disappear into such an open and barren landscape, with visibility for miles in most directions. I am still not convinced that these shots were misses, but there simply wasn't anywhere else to look. If they were misses, the wind was certainly a big factor.
Darkness was coming quickly now and we began the trek back to the truck, with about a thousand feet still left to descend. Arriving back home around 7pm, all I could think about was that Oryx, and a hot meal.
The next morning, we decided to go back to the same mountain and glass again for either of the other Oryx that we saw. The sunrise was stunning. It felt like an homage to the day we might have. After several hours of glassing, we could not locate either Oryx, or any new ones.
A front was pushing in quickly, and it started to get extremely windy. We made the call that the wind may have pushed the animals down into better cover and low areas, and over the next few hours we covered 10 new miles of road, and hiked into an area called the turtlebacks - a set of foothills leading up to a new set out mountains. We also stumbled across several really interesting pieces of exploded ordinance that had been dispensed over the vast area, some newer than others.
We hunted both days from sun up to sun down with no breaks. To be honest, it's the hardest I have ever hunted in a 48 hour window. As the wind picked up even stronger, the 40-50mph gusts started to push sand from both the surrounding area and white sands missile test range into the sky. It was impossible to hold the binoculars still as the gusts got stronger, but we persevered on into the abyss of desert anyways.
The storm made everything very difficult. You can see the dust storm building here. Dark on the final day came earlier than normal, and after covering 60 or more miles on tires and boots in 36 hours, it was over. In total we saw 5 antelope, 7 mule deer including one 3x3 at 40 yards, 3 Oryx, 8 Javelina and 5 rabbits.
I have always been drawn to the mountains. There's some part of me that sees a big hill and can't help but wonder "what's on the other side"? I'm thankful that I am still able to go find out, and I hope that I have a bunch of years left to be able to answer that question.
I know it's not realistic that I will ever draw this hunt for myself, and even if I did, I'd be in my 60s or maybe even 70s. It's very possible that this may be the only time in my life that I ever get to chase these weird, magnificent creatures. Trying to cram all of the expectations and hopes that come along with that into a single two day hunt is exhausting. There is a chance he may draw again as the military only hunts have better odds, but it's still uncertain and as I have learned, life has a way of changing your plans. They are moving back to Arkansas next month, and while I think the intentions are good, I wonder if he will really put in year after year, hoping to eventually get to do this all again.
The plane ride home was a little wild. The winds were shaking the plane like turbulence, but we were still parked on the tarmac. Dust obscured the other planes as they took-off and landed, and as the pilot pushed the plane straight into the oncoming winds for takeoff, the cabin filled with dust. Much of my gear is still covered in the fine white gypsum, and I found a mesquite branch in my boot last night. My sister texted me to tell me that it had started snowing right after we left.
We didn't tag an animal, but the memories are still fresh and vivid. Maybe someday ... maybe.
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